Jesse: Order 66
by TheGreatKingMike
Summary: As the 501st executes Order 66 inside the Jedi Temple, Jesse realizes the reality of Fives' death and Kix's disappearance.


Jesse had finally lost his sense of humor…

Around him the sound of blaster fire echoed off the walls, accompanied by the screams of the dying. Jesse thought he could handle any battle after Umbara, but nothing could have prepared him to watching himself slaughter younglings, and murder those he had fought with for years, but he had no control. He could only watch himself blindly kill any jedi he saw, and any mental protest he made was drowned out with a voice in his head screaming: "Good soldiers follow orders."

Jesse heard a scream from behind him, and saw an older Cosian Jedi cut down one of his brothers. Behind the jedi, stood a small group of younglings. A human, a tholothian, a rodian, a nautolan an ithorian, and a wookie. "Keep moving! We must escape the temple!" as the group of jedi began to run away, one of the fallen clones stirred, and aimed a blaster at the jedi. "Master Sinube! Behind you!" screamed the tholothian. The trooper fired two shots into Master Sinube's back. "NO!" yelled the human. The human ignited a blue lightsaber, and jumped to the clone, slicing off his head.

Jesse realized he was aiming his blaster at the younglings.

 _I can't! They're just kids!_

 _Good soldiers follow orders…_

Jesse narrowed his vision.

 _I don't care if they're jedi, they don't deserve this!_

 _Good soldiers follow orders._

Jesse felt his finger reach for the trigger

 _Please, don't make me do this!_

 _Good soldiers follow orders!_

Jesse pulled the trigger.

A blue laser blast exploded from the gun and slammed into the side of the tholothian. The other younglings recoiled in response, and turned to Jesse. Jesse fired again, this time striking the rodian in the chest. The ithorian turned to run, while the human, nautolan, and wookie ignited their lightsabers. Jesse fired again, striking the ithorian in the back. The nautolan jumped toward him, but in the process exposed his chest, which Jesse quickly blasted. The human and wookie began to run toward him. Jesse fired multiple shots at the wookie, who wasn't even blocking as he ran. The human stopped and took a defensive position.

 _Kid, please, kill me_.

Jesse fired multiple shots at the human, however his unrefined style only deflected the first few, before he was struck, and fell dead alongside his companions. As Jesse walked by the corpses, he heard the sound of labored breathing. He turned to see the tholothian was barely alive.

"Please… no…"

 _I ca-_

 _GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS!_

Jesse closed his eyes, unable to look the youngling in the eye, and pulled the trigger.

As he walked away from the bodies, Jesse realized something: Kix and Fives were right. He remembered the mission to Ringo Vinda, where Tup murdered General Tiplar. He remembered Fives going insane and trying to kill the chancellor. Then, he remembered Kix at the bar on Coruscant. Kix told him Fives had met him in the bathroom, and told him he thought there was a conspiracy. At the time, they both thought Fives was completely crazy, and they both accepted the official explanation that a parasite caused Tup to kill the general, and made Fives go rogue. But it was after the captain approached Jesse and Kix and asked them to remove their chips, that Kix decided to investigate. Jesse remained reluctant to remove his, worried of going crazy like Fives. Later, Jesse was told that Kix had 'discovered the truth' and rushed to inform the Jedi, but was captured by the separatists on the way, and any hope of recovering Kix was dashed when the ship he was on made a blind hyperspace jump and disappeared.

Even still, Jesse didn't want to go crazy or to disappear like Kix, Fives, and Tup, and didn't remove his chip. But now, Jesse realized that everything was true, and it perfectly explained why Fives was killed and Kix disappeared. Whoever was behind this, most likely the Chancellor, or now, the Emperor, couldn't risk anyone finding out the truth.

Then, Jesse realized something, it didn't matter the extreme guilt of betraying the Jedi he, and probably most clones, would feel, because the public wouldn't be angry. They would PRAISE them. Jesse had heard what people thought of the jedi while on Coruscant leave, and he had seen the republic propaganda blaming the jedi for the war. Jesse couldn't even fathom that people would praise them for their murderous betrayal, hell, the 501st would probably be decorated for their raid on the temple.

Jesse heard panting, and turned to see a padawan run around the corner with lightsaber ignited. Jesse aimed down the sights of his gun as the jedi ran toward him. As Jesse put his finger on the trigger, he aimed for the Jedi's legs.

Jesse pulled the trigger, and nothing happened. He pulled it again and again, with no shots.

 _Out of charges…_

A feeling of relief washed over Jesse as the jedi ran toward him. Jesse turned to run away.

 _No! I am not running!_

 _GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS!_

 _I don't care!_

 _GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS!_

 _Well, than i guess i'm not a good soldier!_

Jesse, fighting the chip with all his strength, stopped himself from running and turned to face the jedi.

Jesse didn't feel the lightsaber cut.

Jesse lay on the ground with a large lightsaber gash across his chest, with the padawan standing over him. The screaming voice in his head began to fade, and Jesse felt himself regain control of his body. Jesse began feeling rather tired, and his eyes were heavy.

"Thanks kid…"

Jesse closed his eyes, and took his last breath.


End file.
